Chapter 1: A Quest

[In an alley not far from Malacanang Palace, Philippines]

The slow pattering of the rain,

The nonstop honking of transportations caused by the heavy traffic,

And the squelching sounds coming from street cats running for shelter.

All of these can be heard from this alley just 4km away from Malacanang Palace, the residence and workplace of the president of the Philippines.

Suddenly, someone broke the rhythm that seems to be going on forever.

*BANG*

A loud sound echoed across the area. That was a gunshot. The bullet went trough the nearest trash bin just beside the back door of a salon.

"Stop! Run and I will shoot it next through your heart!" A well built man in black suit came running and stopped.His gun pointed at a man wearing a dark-blue hoodie.

The man in suit did not intent to kill the hoodie guy seeing how far the bullet went from where the hoodie guy is standing. Realizing this, the hoodie guy ran as fast as he could to escape.

*Bang* *Bang* *Click* *Click*

"Dang! Why now?!"

The man in suit couldn't do anything but helplessly shout his anger and frustration. It was already too late to shoot the guy since it has already ran far away. Two bullets weren't enough to hit the guy's foot at the very least. He lack the skills and he ran out of bullets in the worst time.

He then grabbed his own collar and placed his mouth near the micro intercom that's attached to it.

"Ino, GO! He's running west!"

*Creaking sounds coming from the intercom*

"I'm on it! Send the others too!"

The man in the Intercom called Ino quickly ran towards the given directions. He took a shortcut by jumping onto terraces, windows and lastly, in rooftops for a better view of the target. He did it so easily and unbelievably while wearing casual clothes that everyone who will see him will think of him as a stunt man.

Few minutes of running and he finally caught sight of his target. Its now heading towards an abandoned building. It was a great chance for him so he quickly dashed and jumped from where he was standing just a moment ago. When he was about to land in the ground, he reach out his hands to support his weight then rolled forward.

Not wasting even a second of his time, Ino went inside the abandoned building by kicking the door.

The inside was surprisingly clean despite its wrecked appearance on the outside. He opened a door that says "Stock room" and was about to close it after checking what's inside when an armchair came from behind targeting his head.

Luckily, Ino managed to dodge before the armchair hit him. The hoodie guy irritatingly pulled the armchair intending to hit Ino again but Ino grabbed it and launched a heavy side kick on the hoodie guy's waist.

"Arghh!" The hoodie guy got on his knees screaming in pain but he still didn't plan on giving up and held Ino's legs. He tried to make Ino lost his balance. Fortunately, Ino was quicker and was able to grabbed the hoodie guy's neck, positioned himself in the guy's back and choke him, lying and not allowing a single movement from his opponent by placing a resistance on the guy from his neck, legs and feet.

"Ack-ackk *splat* *splat" The guys made a splatting sound with his hand, the other one was on Ino's arm trying to loosen up the choking.

"Do you want me to get my arms off?" Asked Ino in an unemotional manner. The guy nodded repeatedly in an instant.

"Then, promise not to try anything nasty to escape because if you do, I can just pull you and put a hole in your head." said Ino tightening his locked arms even more. "Now, your answer?" As if his life depended on it, the guy nodded repeatedly again, faster than he has done earlier.

Ino quickly pulled a handcuff from behind his back, still choking the hoodie guy with his free hand. He then made the hoodie guy wear it and pointed his gun at him.

Ino reached for his ear-piece. "I got him. I'll send you the location," Another creaking sound can be heard from the other side of the ear-piece

"Hahaha! Good job! You did it again. I'm sure boss will reward you for it."

It was the man in suit ealier. Ino just hanged up and waited for his acquaintances to arrive.

In case you've mistaken, Ino is not a part of some gang or syndicate neither a police officer. He works as a bodyguard of a well known senator in the Philippines. The man in suit earlier was Agustin, his superior that works as the main bodyguard of their boss.

Currently, there is an ongoing large pressconference happening in Malacanang Palace. Journalists, Tv Reporters, and Radio broadcasters from Asian Countries are swarming inside hoping to get a headline for tomorrow. Ino's emoloyer is one of the senate officers responsible for answering the questions of the guests. Knowing that, there is a huge possibility that oppositions groups will use this chance to strike. That is why Ino, along with his acquaintances have been on their guard since the day before yesterday.

It turns out that their group's prediction was true. Just an hour ago, the hoodie guy snuck inside Malacanang, concealed himself in the crowd, disguised as a cameraman and tried to throw a dagger towards their employer. Fortunately, one of Ino's co-worker saw the guy and immidiately took action.

*clack* *clack*

Sounds of a screen door being stepped on broke Ino's thoughts. He looked up to see his 3 co-workers all wearing black suits. Under them is the door he kicked earlier.

The four of them exchanged glances at each other. Agustin told the other two to pick up the hoodie guy while he told Ino that he can go anytime. The later nodded and handed his gun to his superior.

Ino quickly took his leave and opened his phone to check if there are messages.

And there were two.

One from his younger sister, the other one is from his female employer in a restaurant where he work as a part-timer.

Ino stopped walking.His eyes slowly grew big as he sink into realization. He immediately looked on the time in his phone. 7:46 pm. His shift starts at 7:30 pm. He did not bothered himself reading his boss' message becaus he was sure that it was filled with curses directed at him. Without hesitation Ino dashed towards the main road and got himself in a Jeepney. (One of the most common transportation in the Philippines).

Ino arrived at the restaurant he work 10 minutes later. It was packed with costumers and his co-workers restlessly took care of them so well. He then changed into his uniform and did his job.

.

.

.

"3 barbeque meal, 2 Regular Fries, 1 large spaghetti, 1 orange, lemon and cucumber juice each and 3 original halo-halo.. Is that all ma'ams?" Ino asked the 3 girls. He was getting their orders. The girls simultaneously nodded while giggling and whispering to each other as they look at Ino's back now heading towards the counter.

Ino looked at the clock placed over the counter after handing over the girls orders. Its already 12:00 am. His shift finally ended. He was supposed to finish at 11:30 pm but his boss made him extend his shift as punishment for being late.

On the way to their house, Ino read his sister's message that he wasn't able to read earlier

[Inah - 7:02 pm]

Kuya, are you done with your job for that senator? Come home before going to your other job. I prepared dinner.

A faint smile formed at Ino's lips. His sister is finally a grown up now. After years of working himself to the bones, applying to different part-time jobs, he is finally at the point where he won't need to worry about his sister's school expenses and medication bills. Ino's parents died in a plane crash that happened 3 years ago. They have no other relatives that's why Ino and his sister had no one to go to after their parent's death.

Their mom and dad left them with a huge inheritance only to be spent up after a year for his sister's surgery and medication that she's been taking up to this day. It was very hard back then since part-time jobs does not pay that much plus the sad fact that Ino is a college dropout, it was almost next to impossible to find a job. Luckily, he landed on his "Bodyguard" job right now. Its a dangerous job but pays high for a 3-4 hours of work.

It was almost 1 am when Ino got home. There was food placed on the table but he just put it in the refrigerator for tomorrow. He was too tired to eat. After checking on his sister, he had immediately gone to his room and sleep.

Then, morning came.

It was Ino's day-off that is why he decided to make breakfast for him and his sister.

"Inah! Breakfast is ready!Wake up or you'll be late for school!" Ino shouted on top of his lungs as he lays the plates containing toast, bacon and eggs that he cooked. Ino actually wants to cook his self-made special dishes but he decided to save it for dinner so he can surprise his sister.

Minutes passed but there's still no sign of Inah in the Kitchen. Strange. Ino's sister is the type to be woken up in a single call. He tried calling her for a second and third time but still no answer.

Ino decided to fetch her at her room but there is no one in the bed. He checked on the bathroom but only his reflection can be seen on its glass walls. Ino started to panic and hurriedly goes to another room.

'Is she playing again? That brat'

Ino checked Inah's gameroon where she spend 1/3 of her day. Ino thought she would be there but there isn't a single soul in there.

Ino looked around the house but there is no trace of Ina. Not even a hair. He even tried calling her phone but it says that he can't connect to her phone. Ino's worries just got stronger as the time passes. He called her friends to check if Ina has already gone to her school without notice.

"She's not here yet. Sorry. Even me doesn't know where she could be"

Ino got dejected after hearing their answers.

'Where could she be? She wouldn't leave without me knowing it... unless'

A thought came into his mind. Ino rushingly get himself a taxi. Her sister is probably in their parent's grave. She visits them often whenever she feels down.

On the way to the graveyard, Ino caught a glimpse of a huge Billboard displayed above the ABC-DBN Building, one of the largest TV network in the Philippines. The advertisement is all about a popular game called Save Me Online.

Ino does not know a lot about games but since his sister is a gamer and plays Save Me Online herself, Ino has a little idea about the said game.

SAVE ME ONLINE. According to his sister, its a visual-reality game produced by a Japanese gaming company. It was developed 3 years ago but it is still overly popular among users of all ages. It has over 2 billion players despite being expensive and it is widely known for being the source of income these past few years. Apparently, the said gaming company has branches that spreads out all over Asian, Americans, Africans and Europeans countries and that includes Philippines.

Ino once thought of making money through that game but he is well aware of his poor talent for gaming so he eventually gave up on that idea. The last memory of him playing an online game was 7 years ago, when he was being badly beaten by his little sister. He never played games like those ever since.

Ino knew that he has no future in gaming so he just brushed it off his mind.

He arrived at his parents graveyard but still no sign that his sister had been there. While looking at his parent's grave, Ino tried contacting all the people he met earlier hoping to hear a good news from them only to hear the word "Nothing" repeatedly. Ino returned back home, searched their house again but there is really no one. He's been itching to make a run to the police but Ino was sure he'll just make a fool out of himself if he ever tried it since it wasn't even 24 hours since his sister's disappearance.

Ino entered his sister's game room, still hoping to find a clue that would lead to his sister's location. The room was supposed to be restricted since his sister never like it when someone touch her gaming "tools".

Looking around, it may be a gaming room but not a single thing can be seen on this room. That is because the room itself is the game. It was the popular Visual-Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role Paying Game (VRMMORPG) that was on the advertisement earlier called Save Me Online. Normally, visual-reality games comes in helmets, glasses and chairs but Save Me Online is different.Its a built-in cube room.Measuring 3 meters in all sides, it is made like that so anyone can freely move inside and even perform stunts.

Ino slightly knows how to make SMO work since he has watched his sister play it several times when it was newly bought. On the left side of the room, a blue button can be seen on the wall. As far as Ino remembered, it was the switch for the game.

Ino hesitatingly pushed it and lines with blue lights came out from the button. It filled up the room forming a 3x3 squares in each side just like a rubik's cube. In the center, a square lit up in yellow light. Ino remembered his sister standing over it so he did it too.

*Ting*

A sound came out the moment Ino stepped on it. It was followed with an 11 inch-sized drones that came out from a square that opened up. It flew towards him so he intended in to dodge it but he was stopped by a woman's voice

"P L E A S E S T A Y S T I L L"

The drones split up and positioned themselves infront of Ino. 2 drones each flew towards his eyes, ears, hands and feet while 1 drone each for his nose, mouth and stomach.The drone shot a small device in each part of Ino's body. He checked it and saw that it was magnetic.

"Amazing" Ino thought to himself.

The little drones flew back where they came out. Afterwards, a meter wide laser appeared and scanned Ino's whole body.

"I D E N T I T Y R E C O G N I Z E D"

The voice of a robotic woman echoed aross the room. It was followed by glowing letters appearing out of nowhere that is now slowly turning into phrases.

Ino read it and this is what it says.

[ Player Identification ]

N a m e : Carlo Ino Lagmanares Aquin

A g e : 21 years old

G e n d e r : Male

B i r t h d a y : November 14, 19**

J o b / s : Personal Bodyguard, Restaurant Waiter

F a m i l y M e m b e r/s P l a y i n g t h e g a m e : Sister (1)

S i s t e r : Inah Charlie Lagmanares Aquin

SMO Class : Sorcerer

S a v e M e O n l i n e (SMO) I.D. N o : 14411024

S t a t u s : Captured by the Evil forces

▶H I D D E N R E A L I Z A T I O N Q U E S T ◀

⬜ Search and Save the lost Sorcerer ❗

Description:

Inah Aquin a.k.a Armadela, a promising sorcerer from the country of Wesenkorh has been lost for months! Search for the lost sorcerer in order to bring her back in the real world.

❗ WARNING ❗

Please be prepared to battle with the evil forces on the way to your journey in finding the lost sorcerer.

❗ PENALTY FOR NOT COMPLETING THE QUEST ❗

▶ Player will be forever banned from playing the game.

▶ Ms. Inah Aquin will remain in Save Me Online until a new player receive the same quest and complete it.

Confusion immediately reflected on Ino's face after reading the text. He never played the game and yet it displayed imformations about him. And what's more confusing for him is his sister's status that says she has been captured and that he needs to search her to complete his quest.

As expected for someone who isn't a fan of fantasy novels or movies, Ino thought the things he just read were absurb. He thought that maybe there is some kind of problem with the game's server and that it needs to be fixed.

"I don't know what this is all about, but I won't waste my time with some absurb games" Just like that, Ino took off all the small devices that were placed on his body, walked towards the switch and was about to turn off the game when the woman spoke again:

" C o l l e c t i n g r e c e n t d a t a.... S c a n n i n g.....S c a n n i n g c o m p l e t e"

Suddenly, all the lights turned off and the woman's voice stopped. Ino quickly looked for the light's switch with his right hand on the wall guiding him towards his destination. Just when he was about an inch away from pressing the switch, a human-size hologram appeared from the yellow square at the center.

" D i s p l a y i n g.....M i s s I n a h A q u i n ' s d a t a 17 h o u r s , 28 m i n u t e s a g o."

Just like what the woman said, the hologram was his sister. The hologram shows Inah shouting some unfamiliar words and gestures. It seems she was in the middle of a battle.

Ino took steps towards his sister's hologram. He can clearly see that his sister enjoys playing the game. A minute later, Inah stopped shouting and doing weird gestures and is now talking to someone. She's probably done with her battle.

Then just when Inah was busy chatting with someone, a blinding light appeared from above. Ino tried to look at it and so is Inah, however, the light started to cover Inah's body and as if she's feeling pain, she screamed loudly and desperately.

" ARGHHHHHHH HE-HEELLLLPP!"

"Inah!!" He tried to reach for her sister despite knowing it was a hologram.

It was true. Ino doesn't want to accept this exasperating fact but now that he had seen it with his own eyes, he does not know what to do anymore. His sister is the only family he's got and he absolutely won't let her be in danger.

A tear was about to escape from Ino's eyes but he immediately wipe it off and look on the text he had read earlier.

"A Hidden realization quest huh. "

"I'll do it"

Clenching his hands, Ino picked up the small devices he had rid off his body earlier and put it back where they were supposed to be placed.

'Wait for me Inah'

Ino thought as he began playing the game.

A/N: "Kuya" is a term in the Philippines means "Older brother"